Sterzing to Feltre Day 9 - Rifugio Passo delle Selle to Capanna Cervino

Saturday June 22, Rifugio Passo delle Selle to Capanna Cervino, from pass to pass to pass to pass

There is a time and place to imagine chirping birds and "Morgenstimmung" from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt, and this is it:

The wind was calm enough that Carly didn't get blown off the back porch.

Chicken for scale

I totally understand Italian breakfast: it's light and fluffy, and its purpose is to tide you over until Second Breakfast. Plus if you've tanked up on polenta and a slab of melted cheese the night before, you need to walk before you can fit more food in your belly. Thus we headed down from Passo delle Selle with dry boots and unburdened by protein or complex carbs.

We saw lots of hikers heading up as we headed down. The refuge is much more accessible from the south than the north.

Bye, Rifugio!

The clouds were thin, but offered some Caspar David Friedrich homage opportunities:

Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer

Die Henne über dem Nebelmeer

Ah, now this is more like it: a bridge over a creek that doesn't need one.

We descended to Passo San Pelligrino, land of ski lifts, and headed up the next hill...

...where there were also ski lifts. This gondola was being repaired when we hiked beneath it:

We then hiked down to the next pass, Passo Valles.

Having skipped Second Breakfast, we were by this time hungry for lunch. There was just one option at the pass, and it was upscale, delicious, and affordable because we shared just two dishes.

Local wildflowers and greens with fresh ricotta,  dandelion honey, and seed crackers

Gnocchi with smoked ricotta

Refreshed, we sprang to and over the next hill, with views of the San Martino massif ahead of us.

We crossed over the crest and descended into the meadow below Pale San Martino...

The descent was steep enough that we had to pause often to tighten bootlaces. 

Most of the rock was white, but we passed big patches of iron-rich soil...

...and one patch of hail stones, presumably from the storm that swept through the night before.

Eventually the trail leveled out, and we headed uphill again...

Look at that square of missing rock on the mountainside. Rockslides happen.

We zigzagged along the switchbacking road, occasionally cutting across on trails, crossed over the crest, and headed a short way down to Capanna Cervino, out refuge for the evening, just above Passo Rolle.

A room with a view. The thunderstorm started about an hour after we arrived...

...and then the skies cleared, sorta.

Ta da! 13.3 miles, 2,960 ft elevation gain, 4,510 ft descent.